General Motors, University Launch Vehicle Sharing Pilot Program in China
EN-V 2.0 fleet will provide valuable learnings in real-world environment
When we discuss the big challenges to urban mobility – overpopulation, urbanization, road congestion, air quality – China is center stage. Nearly one fifth of the world’s population lives in a country roughly the size of the U.S., many in urban areas.
In many ways, China is the perfect laboratory for testing urban mobility solutions. Which is one reason we launched a two-year vehicle sharing pilot program with a university in Shanghai featuring 16 Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 electric concept vehicles.
EN-V 2.0 is the second generation of the Electric Networked-Vehicle demonstrated at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The vehicle works by combining electric drive with easy-swipe card access for entry, fees and starting; cameras for a rear view; and GPS, OnStar and tablet-based smartphone technologies.
The EN-V 2.0 pilot vehicles will be integrated into the multi-modal transportation system at the university’s campus alongside bicycles, cars and shuttle buses. Our engineers and university staff and students will work together to collect and analyze data from the vehicles’ operation and users’ input, and share learnings on usage patterns and vehicle requirements.
“This program will allow us to better understand how people could use an urban mobility vehicle such as EN-V 2.0 in a real-world setting and in a vehicle-sharing arrangement,” said GM Executive Vice President and President of GM China Matt Tsien. “It represents an important step toward transforming GM’s vision for sustainable urban mobility into reality.”
China isn’t the only pilot program we have going. In fact, we have a team dedicated to urban mobility solutions in regions all over the world. At our Warren Technical Center, for example, we launched a bike-sharing program in 2014 — the first of its kind for any U.S. automaker. The program enables our nearly 20,000 employees to commute more easily between the 61 buildings in our Tech Center by using bikes stationed throughout the campus.
In Germany, our Opel operations will launch GM’s first European car-sharing program and the first peer-to-peer offering by an automaker this year. The program makes available privately owned vehicles, including those from Opel dealerships, for short-term rentals.
Make no mistake – addressing the social and environmental impacts of growing urban population, transportation and economies presents a huge challenge to the global community. But there is also opportunity to test new ideas while addressing the needs of customers today and in the decades to come.
